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Hellomat

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 10:55 pm
by coppinpr
Just bought this Hellomat Quatra. Not the most exciting machine (although strangely addictive to play) but it does have a few interesting features that might be of interest to some. It dates to 1965 and was made by Erich Busch, in Hellenthal, which is a little odd as the earlier and later Hellomats were made by O.J.Hoffmann in the same town.

It has the strangest reel operation I've seen (perhaps it's common and I've just never had cause to notice). There is a central rod that rotates for the whole length of the play. The reels run freely on this rod attached to the rod only by four felt pads. When the solenoid drops in to stop each reel, the reel simply stops and the pads rub against the still spinning rod. I thought they would be badly worn but they look to have years of life in them yet.

Although the front glass is in English it's running on German 10 pfennigs and DM and the English wording says it is, which seems very odd.
It has an interesting 1 DM change giver that gives the player 1 game and nine 10 pf coins. The DM fall into a separate payout tube allowing for a jackpot paid in DM which is a nice twist. It has two coin boxes to keep the two coins separate.

The machine is in perfect working order including the payouts, change giver and JP and seems to have a high payout ratio. I don't know what the JP is as I have 400 pf coins but no DM, but I suspect 2 or more DM, as the highest normal payout is 18 coins.
No transformer of course so lots of sudden death in the case. The case is pretty good but needs a little work on the metal bits.
I seem to have a soft spot for this type of machine, although I'm not great on electrics. These are much like a '60s pinball, which is where I started with slots, and it does have the original wiring diagram still fixed to the inside of the case, so not too hard to work out.

I was intrigued by the word "Eifel" which always seems to be on the front of these machines. Simple internet research shows this to be the area in Germany where the town of Hellenthal is situated.

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 12:03 pm
by brigham
It's the usual way to drive the reels in a motor-driven E/M mech.
Bell-Fruit Manufacturing were using it in the later '60s, and most of the others had also adopted it.
The clutch discs are usually leather, and over time they get hard enough to stall the motor. An overnight soak in neatsfoot oil soon puts them back in order.

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:46 pm
by youngerap
coppinpr wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 10:55 pmAlthough the front glass is in English it's running on German 10 pfennigs and DM and the English wording says it is, which seems very odd.
I wonder if this machine was built for the NAAFI at one of the military bases that the UK used to operate in Germany?

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 1:08 pm
by arrgee
youngerap wrote:I wonder if this machine was built for the NAAFI
That's what I thought younger.

To many ex-servicemen, NAAFI means 'No Ambition And F**kall Interest'.
:lol:

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:22 pm
by coppinpr
youngerap wrote: Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:46 pmI wonder if this machine was built for the NAAFI at one of the military bases that the UK used to operate in Germany?
Very good point, and quite likely. In fact no reason why it couldn't have been in the PX of one of the more numerous American bases. !SHOOT!

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 10:21 am
by badpenny
The PX store at Prestwick during the 60s only had Mills and Jennings.

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 9:54 pm
by coppinpr
i was thinking of the many US bases in Germany at the time,perhaps they let in few local machines with readable instructions? after all,the yanks do talk a kind of English...of sorts !PUZZLED!

Re: Hellomat

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:02 am
by malcymal
Good purchase, i love these. I watched this one tempted on Ebay for a couple of times it was listed (maybe listed few times). It should operate fine on 20p or 1p coin if you want to use it as money bank. I have a german machine i got from the late Harold English with 10p slot for change and tempted to convert it to £2.00 coin and play on 20p hence 1 play and 9 coins returned for £2.00. Does your machine have a leaf switch in the coin tube to detect when the tube is full enough to give change, or is it some other gizmo? Any chance you can video it operating and stick on youtube? Thanks, Malc